EDITORIAL CHARLIE HUSTLER.

AMERICANS want to forgive Pete Rose, we really do. He just makes it so infuriatingly difficult.

If Rose admitted, long ago, that yes, he had bet on baseball, it would have been easy to let him off with a slap on the wrist - banishment from the game for a few years, coupled with treatment for what appears to be a gambling addiction.

But instead of confessing to what was already obvious to everyone, Rose played a stubborn game of denial, swearing that he never bet on the game. He called his critics liars, and loyal friends stuck out their necks to proclaim his innocence.

Now, after 14 years, he writes a book, fesses up, and expects Major League Baseball and its fans to welcome him back with open arms.

Not so fast, Charlie Hustle.

As far as apologies go, Rose's - at least what we've seen of it so far - leaves much to be desired. It lacks contrition for breaking baseball's cardinal rule against betting on the sport, let alone the damage he's done to the reputation of the game and those he's bashed over the years.

It also seems self-serving. Rose sees that the window of opportunity for getting into the Hall of Fame, or catching a big-bucks managing job, is closing. He's also trying to cash in on his atonement with a book deal.

And when someone's been lying for 14 years, it's hard to suddenly take his word at face value.

So, thanks to his own arrogance and obstinacy, Rose is losing friends and supporters when could be attracting them by the thousands. He is alienating even his truest fans, and ensuring that he will be remembered not for his heroics on the field, but for his antics off it - antics that have already tarnished the game.

With a legacy like that, Rose has no place in baseball today, let alone in the Hall of Fame.